The Reels Of Romance – The Bad & The Beautiful

The Reels Of Romance:

The Bad & The Beautiful

by S. Jansen

At a recent annual pajama party of college friends with over twenty women there, we sat around drinking champagne and swapping “romance” stories.  I was amazed at the similarities in our lives and how much we had in common in our search for love.

We laughed at the comedy of our romantic wiles, and how our brains seemed to leave us when the notion of love slyly beckoned us to follow it blindly. We also sighed heavily at the tragedies we knew about and the ones we’d experienced ourselves.  As I listened to the stories around me, I decided to share them with a larger audience. The stories, which were all labeled true, fell into three categories: romantic, sad, and ridiculous.  Thus, I begin with my own story, which falls easily under the third category.

In college, I fell under the spell of the most popular guy on campus.  He had big brown eyes that pierced my soul every time he looked at me.  My dorm room was filled with wedding books full of glorious gowns, as I anticipated being chosen as his wife upon graduation.  But on graduation night, he informed me after I caught him in the arms of another, that he had secretly gotten married the week before, and was leaving on his honeymoon the next day.

I was devastated and convinced my world had come to an end.  However, when he phoned me on his honeymoon and stated he still loved me too, I rationalized that he had just made a mistake, and was confused about his feelings.  The honeymoon call was the trick that kept me bound to him for another two years, as I consented to meet him in all of the out-of-the-way places he could think of.  I finally gained some sanity, when his wife got pregnant with twins.

Ellen:  From the beginning of their courtship, Ellen’s boyfriend always sent her roses once a week. When they married, the tradition continued, and when he died ten years later of prostate cancer, he commissioned his brother in his will to continue the tradition.

Tonya: When Tonya’s boyfriend of four years finally proposed to her, he came to the hospital where she worked as a nurse and arranged to do so over the paging system.  She almost fainted when she heard his voice over the loudspeaker.

Tracy’s boyfriend, a prominent attorney, charters a private jet once a month and flies her to the Bahamas to visit her sick parents.

Toni: After her boyfriend canceled another date with her, Toni gave in to her suspicions one night and followed his car from a club he frequented. When he pulled in front of a strange house and went inside, she parked and waited for him to come out.  She suspected he was visiting another woman, and she planned to confront him when he came out.  Unfortunately, he was in there so long that she fell asleep and when she woke up, he was tapping on her window holding the hand of another woman and waving goodbye.

Angie had a jealous nature and had the keys to her boyfriend’s car. So, when she spotted it one night accidentally on an unfamiliar street, she became suspicious.  She assumed that he was up to mischief because she hadn’t been able to reach him all day.  She decided to fix him by moving his car four blocks away.  However, she was totally embarrassed when she later learned that he was visiting his uncle who was very ill.  It turned out he reported his car stolen when he stepped outside to take his uncle to the hospital, and the car was gone.  It doomed the relationship when Angie confessed what she had done.

Suzanne had been dating a guy for over four months when he took her to a party one night.  After several hours of intermittent disappearing acts, he explained that he had to leave to take a sick friend home and that he would be back. Unfortunately, she sat there waiting for him long after the party ended, but he never came back or called. She finally became frustrated and took an Uber home.  The next day, he called and said that he had to end their relationship because he was back with his ex-girlfriend who was at the party. He wished her well and jokingly told her he would be glad to give her “references” if she needed any.